Gas strut assemblies include a housing that defines an interior space, with a rod moveably disposed within the interior space. The rod is slideably moveable along a central axis between a retracted position, i.e., a shortened position, and an extended position, i.e., a lengthened position. A piston is disposed at an axial end of the rod within the interior space of the housing. The housing includes a closed end, and includes a volume of gas, such as but not limited to air, trapped within the interior space of the housing, between the piston and the closed end of the housing. Movement of the rod from the extended position into the retracted position compresses the air between the closed end of the housing and the piston, thereby generating a resulting axial force urging the piston and the rod back into the extended position. As such, the rod is continuously biased into the extended position.
Because the gas strut assemblies are biased toward the extended position, the gas strut assemblies are often utilized to provide an opening force and/or to provide a hold-open force to door, trunk lid, hood, etc. However, the gas strut assemblies rely on the compressed gas to provide the axial force urging the piston and the rod into the extended position. Changing ambient temperatures changes the temperature of the gas, which changes the density of the gas. For example, when the temperature decreases, the density of gas also decreases, which lowers the resulting axial force that urges the rod into the extended position.